Badenoch announces Tory review of which conditions qualify for benefits

"a key refrain of her speech was that the increase in people receiving benefits for physical and mental conditions was unaffordable. It was, she said, particularly the case for low-level mental health issues such as ADHD. A lot of people don't know the scale of the problem, she said. A lot of people don't know how bad it is. Quite simply, our sickness benefit system was not designed to handle the age of diagnosis which we now live in."

"Badenoch indicated that the Conservatives would significantly scale back which conditions entitled people to help. We are going to review which conditions the states treats as disabilities when it comes to benefits, she said. All of us will have physical and mental challenges at some point in our lives, but in an age in which one in four people now self-report as disabled, it's clear that we are now going to have to draw a line on what health issues the state can support."

"While it is up to the review to come up with specific policies, the Conservative leader hinted that some payments could become time limited, saying one element would examine at what stage support should come in, and how long it should last. She also suggested the possibility of ending the use of relative poverty as an indicator of deprivation, saying this took no account of people's improved circumstances if the economy grew."

The Conservative party has launched a review to reduce the scope and cost of the benefits system, citing unaffordability linked to rising claims for physical and mental conditions. The review will consider time-limiting some payments and examine when and for how long support should be provided. The review will reassess which health conditions the state treats as disabilities for benefit entitlement, including scrutiny of low-level mental health diagnoses such as ADHD. The party proposes reconsidering the use of relative poverty as a deprivation indicator and plans to work with medical and employment experts on reforms.

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